Shield for dental lathes



Nov. 23, 1948. J. P. HONEY SHIELD FOR DENTAL LATfiES Filed June 21, 1945 4 Aw/W m H H 1 5, 6 4

INVENTOR.

y 7 WW 0 u rm m. A J. fi B Patented Nov. 23, 1948 UNJTED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHIELD FOR DENTAL-LATHES John. P. Honey, Danville, 111.

Application June 21, 1945," Serial No. 600,818

4-.Claims. (Cl. 51272)' This invention. relates toa: shield fork-dental buffing wheels, or. lathes. .Moretparticularly, it relatesto a. transparent shield'andta supporting frame which may be'attached to :the soecalled splashv boxesused by dentists in connection with the polishing of oral plates and the like.

It .is' 'an object of'this invention toprovide an adjustable shield for use in connection with dentists. .splashxboxesrto prevent the operator being sprayedwith 'silicious materials and at the same time; to provide him-with a working space and clear vision ofxthe work by providing a transparent shieldwhi'ch maybe'neversed quickly and; without inconvenience to the operator, thereby increasing the period over'which the operator may worknvithouthaving ,to .clean the apparatus.

In one specific embodiment, the-invention comprises a frame having wings mounted thereon and means for adjustably attaching the wings to adentists splash box, said frame having .an angle or ledgeqin which a transparent window, such as glass restsiand. fromwwhich it-can be readily removed and replaced,- theawings being attached to the frame at a point between its extremitiesin-theregion of the midpoint so that only a portion of the transparent shield is in a position to receive the splashings during operation.

Figure 1 is a planview of the assembled shield. Figure 2 is an elevation partly in section of the shield. FigureB is a side view-showing a dental splash box, a buffing wheel, and the shield in positionrin relation theretorrltf. also illustrates a furtherfeature of the invention; FigureAJis a detail of part of the frame structure.

Referringto .the drawings, the device-comprises a-frame Ill, made ofsranglemetal'. Itmay be pressedin the form-of an angle from; sheet stock and .is. preferablyrolled .on the vertical edge to further stiffen it. It may be soldered at the corners to add strength. The frame in cornprises an upright portion II, which defines the perimeter of the shield and has an angularly disposed ledge I2, associated therewith, upon which the removable glass or transparent shield rests. The frame may also be made of plastic, etc. Attached to the shield at a point beginning approximately midway in the length, thereof, are wings I3. These may be soldered to the frame, or ma be made integral therewith. In one extremity of each wing is a hole l4, through which a bolt I5 may be passed, having a wing nut I6, and a lock washer or the like, ll. Only one is shown for the sake of simplicity. Resting on the ledge I2 is a transparent shield l8 which is preferably made of laminated glass or other similar transparent material, which is not readily abraded, and which will afford clear vision of the work.

Figure 3 shows the method of attaching the device. A dentists splash box I9, is represented in outline in relation to a buffing wheel 20. The shield I0 is held in position on each side of the splash box by passing the bolts through a hole in the sheet metal box and then through hole 14 in wing l3 and drawing up on the wing nut I6. It will be seen from the illustration that the shield can be tilted at any angle.

A lip 2| which may be of sheet metal or the like may be attached to the lower-end of the frame ID to serve as a guide for any-material which splashes on the glass and runs down and to shield the operator from splashings whenthe angle of the shield is such that the clear portion of the shield will not stop all of the splashings. This is a particular advantage because not all of the shield need be transparent, and it permits the use of .a fiat transparent shield, thereby permitting its being reversed and at the same timenot complicating the design unduly.

The operation may be described as follows: The-dental splashbox is a shallow tray, usually made of metal, in the bottom of whichisplaced a supply of moist abrasive compound such as pumiceand water. At the end of thebox away from the operator is a vertical back portionto the tray which arches up over the buffing wheel and which serves to prevent the pumice being thrown out of the apparatus away from the operator. Thevertical I shield is cut away to per.- mit access to the wheel. There area number of designs of this type of box, but inlgeneral theyprevent the pumice being thrown out of the back. of the box and directly out of the top. They do-not shield the operator to any substantia e te t, since the operator stands well in front of the box.

The splash box is placed in the illustrated relationship to the buffin wheel which may be made of fabric or may be a brush, etc, of conventional design. The cut away portion of the box permits access of the operator's hands, and the article to the polishing wheel without interference. The operator picks up a quantity of wet pumice from the bottom of the tray and presses it against the wheel in order to provide an abrasive surface. The dental plate is then pressed against the Wheel to obtain the desired polishing and grinding. When the operator presses the pumice against the wheel, a quantity of it is thrown by centrifugal force away from the wheel. Part of this is caught by the vertical back and arched top of the splash box, while part of it is thrown outward toward the operator. This latter condition is further increased when the operator presses the plate against the wheel and a fine spray of mixed pumice, water and grindings from the plate are thrown into his face and onto his clothes. agreeable, but when the plate is being finished is often unsanitary. Moreover, it subjects the op,- erator to conditions ideal for the development of silicosis, which is a disease of the lungs produced by the continued breathing of fine silicious particles.

When my shield is placed in the position illustrated in Figure 3, the angle may be adjusted to suit the convenience of the operator. It does not,

-tion,-since the operator can reach behind it easily moving it to suit his particular technique and convenience, depending on the operation being carried out. The position of the wings, by which it is fastened to the splash box, is such that the shield is held out of the working space and the wings do not interfere. A portion of the shield extends above and beyond the horizontal metal top of the splash box. As the operator works, pumice and water are thrown from the wheel toward the shield and gradually accumulates as a strip down the middle of the glass plate beginning at about the point indicated by the broken line in Figure 3. This is quite moist, and tends to eventually flow along the inclined glass plate onto ledge 2| and drop back into the splash box. The shield which is normally about 6 inches wide, this being the normal width of dental splash boxes used in private dental offices, may be shifted from one side to the other by moving the splash box slightly. The pumice accumulates in such a position on the plate that the operator can see the work and wheel without difficulty for a substantial period, and at the same time stand in front of the apparatus.

Eventually, however, the accumulation becomes so great that the operator can no longer conveniently see the work and he merely lifts the transparent plate 18 from the frame and reverses it end-for-end so that the clean part of the glass is placed over the working space. Thus, he can work for a long period without having to clean the glass. By placing the wings slightly above the midpoint, about half the glass is clean as may be seen by examining Figure 3. The portion above the broken line is not splashed. When both ends are soiled, the glass must be washed.

The glass is ordinarily made of laminated sheets so that it will not be easily broken.

While it is in the scope of the invention that This not only is dissmall clips may be used to steady the glass, this is not usually necessary as a rule because it rests in position by gravity.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dental shield comprising a rectangular frame, having upright sides and a ledge disposed at right angles to the sides, means disposed on the sides of the frame near the midpoint but slightly nearer one end than the other, including members for adjustably attaching the frame to a dental splash box, and a transparent shield resting unsecured upon the above mentioned ledge within the frame.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized by a downwardly extending lip attached at an angle to one end of said frame.

3. A splash box comprising a tray with vertical back and an arched top adapted to permit access to a device such as a dental bufiing wheel, a shield adjustably attachable to said arched top, said shield comprising attaching members, a rectangular frame associated therewith, said members being attached to the frame slightly above the midpoint of the frame so that splashings from the wheel strike approximately at or below the longitudinal midpoint of the shield, a transparent shield removably associated with the frame, and a shielding lip attached to the end of the frame at an angle thereto, extending toward the tray of the splash box, the shield being positionable so as to prevent any splashing of an operator stationed in front of the wheel.

4. A splash box comprising a tray with a vertical back and arched top adapted to permit access to a device such as a dental buffing wheel, a shield adjustably attachable to said top, said shield comprising attaching members, a transparent plate, plate-supporting frame to which said attaching members are afiixed adjacent the midpoint of the frame so that splashings from the wheel strike approximately at the longitudinal midpoint of the plate but cannot strike an operator standing in front thereof, said plate being removably and reversibly associated with said frame.

JOHN P. HONEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 596,762 Sevison Jan. 4, 1898 1,041,128 Martin Oct. 15, 1912 1,217,838 Schmidt Feb. 27, 1917 1,259,050 Scofield et a1 Mar. 12, 19 8 1,447,996 Muehlhauser Mar. 13, 1923 1,759,941 Frey May 27, 1930 

